Local Infinities: Visual Theater

a brief look at the immeasureable

Images courtesy of The Field Museum
Department of Insects

Body of Work
INFINITESIMALS

Links Hall
January 7th - 30th, 2005
3435 N. Sheffield, 2nd floor
Chicago, IL USA
Reservations (773) 281-0824

""This festival of original work utilizes a broad range of performance styles that make up the practice of visual theater. Through puppetry, clown, butoh, found object, material, magic and juggling, the assembled artists, each in their own way, attempt to quantify that which cannot be measured” - Meghan Strell, curator of Infinitesimals, and Artistic Director of Local Infinities Visual Theater.

January-March 2005: Links Hall’s new Artistic Associates - Meghan Strell, Shoshanna Utchenik and Lito Walkey - each curate a month-long series of performance, based on expertise in their respective fields of visual theater, contemporary puppetry and dance. January’s program has been curated by Meghan Strell.

		Yggdrasil by Local Infinites. In this theatrical proverb, Meghan Strell personifies the tree of life from Norse mythology. Through the use of silent comedy technique and the exploration of organic matter, this original material & metaphor piece questions genetic inheritance. Does the apple fall far from the tree? Yggdrasil serves as an interlude between the featured events each week of the festival. [ up ]
		DisCard by Erica Mott. What do we throw away and what do we collect? And what do we have when we collect what’s thrown away? Told through movement and buffoonery, DisCard was inspired by found objects and the Chicago streets and alleyways in which they were discovered. Through street theater, mask work, and site-specific performance, Erica Mott attempts to capture and heighten the magic, mystery and tragedy in everyday activities and interactions. [ up ]
		Any Illusion, a perversion of New England in one short act by Seth Bockley. Following the lonely lives of American Saints through the purgatory of New England, Any Illusion is an episodic hallucination of Protestantism and modern self-denial, where mens' clothes and stones become puppets and runes in a slide-show travelogue to Paradise. Seth Bockley trained with Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield, MA, has collaborated with Redmoon Theater and Lucky Pierre, and is a member of Walkabout Theater. [ up ]
		...Art of Dreams by David London: an exploration of Hypnagogia, the turning point between waking and dreaming. Featuring the film artistry and magic scenarios of David London, and enhanced by theater, movement and live music, ...Art of Dreams explores trance, surrealism, alchemy, evolution, and dreams - from the prosaic to the profound. David London is a filmmaker, magician, creator, and tour guide for the unknown, utilizing magic to transform notions of the possible. Through his creations, David strives to open doors of perception and dreams. [ up ]
		Flypaper by Tom Howe, Melissa Howe and Meredith Miller. As a man prepares for his nightly respite, he is interrupted by a flying invertebrate in search of a meal. Through the interaction of humans, puppets and shadows, Flypaper delves into the many roles paper plays in our everyday lives – some which we seldom even notice. By folding, cutting, wetting, pasting, coloring, dying, soiling, lighting and crumpling, the same piece of paper can take on an infinite number of forms. Tom and Melissa Howe have performed with Redmoon Theatre and Local Infinities; Chicago based puppetry artist Meredith Miller is the artistic director of the puppet company The Incurable Theater. [ up ]
		CORPUS DELICTI: Just Desserts, by Larry Underwood. Continuing Underwood’s investigation into corpses and their identities in the minds of the living, once again Dr. Nichaleous Tulp digs into the heart of exploration by utilizing a fresh corpse to illustrate a lecture on identity and self. In an age where Galileo was turning his telescope to the universe, Dr. Tulp was taking an inward journey through the anatomy lessons he performed above the meat markets in Amsterdam. Larry Underwood worked in the Netherlands for over 6 years, helping to realize shows in ship locks, airplane hangars, indoor junkyards and abandoned factories. He co-created Wax & Wayne with Local Infinities, and has also worked with Plasticene and Redmoon Theater. [ up ]
		The Sublime Beauty of Hands by Michael Montenegro & Jude Mathews. Our society, like a somnambulant giant, prepares for and participates in mechanized violence. There exists no forum for redress wherein the victims can express their agony and despair. Blocked from speaking their truth in the real world, these victims find a secret door into the psyche of sleepers everywhere - in this secret inner forum, redress is found. From this idea springs this striking puppet theatre piece. Painter/sculptor Michael Montenegro is a thirty-year veteran of the puppet theatre world, creating and directing two puppet theatre companies, and touring puppet theatre extensively; Jude Mathews has composed music for Montenegro's theatrical works for three years. [ up ]
		A Soldier’s Plea by Steve Batterson, with Derek Halpern (composer) and Tania Rodamilans (choreographer). A timely tale: far from home, a dying soldier reminisces as he looks back over letters he has written to his wife; her emotional response to the letters is revealed through dance, attempting to communicate that which words cannot hold. Steve Batterson has been writing theater and fiction in Chicago for over six years, and co-founded Laugh Den Productions. [ up ]